Yanomami Indians ‘massacred’ by goldminers in Venezuela 29 August 2012

Yanomami Indians ‘massacred’ by goldminers in Venezuela 29 August 2012

http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/8626

Survivors of Brazil's 1993 Haximu massacre hold urns containing the ashes of their relatives. Goldminers killed 16 Yanomami in the attack.

© C Zacquini/ Survival

Goldminers in Venezuela have carried out a ‘massacre’ of isolated Yanomami Indians, according to reports received by Survival International.

Witnesses of the aftermath described finding ‘burnt bodies and bones’ when they visited the community of Irotatheri in the country’s Momoi region, close to the border with Brazil.

Initial reports suggest up to 80 people have been killed, but these numbers are impossible to confirm. Only three survivors have been found.

The attack is believed to have happened in July, but news is only just emerging.

Due to the community’s remote location, it took the Indians who discovered the bodies days to walk to the nearest settlement to report the tragedy.

Luis Shatiwe Yanomami, a leader of the Yanomami organisation Horonami, was in Parima and spoke to the Indians about what they saw. He heard how those who survived had been hunting at the time the community’s communal house was set alight.

He told Survival today, ‘For three years we have been denouncing the situation. There are lots of goldminers working illegally in the forest.’

Hundreds of gold miners work illegally on Yanomami land in Brazil and Venezuela.

© Survival

Speaking to Survival today, Eliseo, a Yanomami man from the region who has spoken to the Indians who discovered the massacre’s aftermath, said, ‘They reported seeing charred bodies and bones, and the burnt remains of the shabono (communal house).’

Massacres against Yanomami Indians are not uncommon. In 1993, 16 Indians were killed after miners attacked the Yanomami community of Haximu in Brazil. Several miners were subsequently convicted of genocide. So far, there has been no investigation into this latest attack.

Stephen Corry, Director of Survival said, ‘This is another appalling tragedy for the Yanomami – heaping crime upon crime. All Amazonian governments must stop the rampant illegal mining, logging and settlement in indigenous territories. It inevitably leads to massacres of Indian men, women and children. The Venezuelan authorities must now bring the killers to swift justice, and send a signal throughout the region that Indians can no longer be killed with impunity. The mining and logging must be stopped.’

Note to Editors:

Survival’s Research Director Fiona Watson has over 25 years’ experience working with Indians including the Yanomami, and is available for interview.

Read a declaration from indigenous organisations in the Amazon about the Yanomami massacre (English, pdf)

Act now to help the Yanomami

Your support will help the Yanomami keep control of their lands, lives and futures. There are many ways you can help.

• Writing a letter to the Brazilian government can make a real difference.
• Donate to the Yanomami campaign (and other Survival campaigns).
• Write to your MP or MEP (UK) or Senators and members of Congress (US).
• Write to your local Brazilian embassy.
• If you want to get more involved, contact Survival…

--
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.

When evil people call you evil, you know that you are a good person.

When lairs call you a liar, you know that you are truthful.

Know who you are and don't let others tell you who you are." - Dave Kitchen

Comments for the Proposed Townsend Bombing Range Extended to 9/27/2012

Comments for the Proposed Townsend Bombing Range Extended to 9/27/2012

There are sacred burials on this expanded area that Sharon, our founder, wants protected.

You can write the address on this page on the letter on this page>

Ky. Police: Remains Are of Woman Who Was Scalped

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/ky-police-remains-woman-scalped-17098237#.UD6wAtaPVlB

(Thanks for this from Bear Warrior)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. August 29, 2012 (AP)

Human remains found about a year ago in Kentucky belonged to a woman of Native American descent who appears to have been scalped, state police said Tuesday.

Detective Chad Winn told The Associated Press that the case is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Forensic examiners found markings on the skull consistent with a scalping, he said. By examining the structure of bones and teeth, investigators determined the woman was likely of Native American descent.

College students searching an area of Barren County near the Cumberland Parkway for a rare tree stumbled across the remains in August 2011. A search by investigators turned up bones scattered in a culvert over a 100-foot area around mile marker 8.

Winn said forensic examiners determined that the woman was about 6 feet tall, was between 20 and 50 years old, and had been killed by a shotgun blast between one and 15 years ago. Winn said it appears someone dumped the woman's body near where it was found.

Winn said there's little evidence to help authorities identify the woman.

"We're grasping at straws," Winn said. "We hit a dead end."

--
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.

When evil people call you evil, you know that you are a good person.

When lairs call you a liar, you know that you are truthful.

Know who you are and don't let others tell you who you are." - Dave Kitchen

Prosecutor: Ga. murder case uncovers terror plot

Prosecutor: Ga. murder case uncovers terror plot

http://www.gopusa.com/news/2012/08/28/prosecutor-ga-murder-case-uncovers-terror-plot/?subscriber=1

LUDOWICI, Ga. (AP) - Four Army soldiers based in southeast Georgia killed a former comrade and his girlfriend to protect an anarchist militia group they formed that stockpiled assault weapons and plotted a range of anti-government attacks, prosecutors told a judge Monday.

Prosecutors in rural Long County, near the sprawling Army post Fort Stewart, said the militia group composed of active duty and former U.S. military members spent at least $87,000 buying guns and bomb components and was serious enough to kill two people - former soldier Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tiffany York - by shooting them in the woods last December in order to keep its plans secret.

"This domestic terrorist organization did not simply plan and talk," prosecutor Isabel Pauley told a Superior Court judge. "Prior to the murders in this case, the group took action. Evidence shows the group possessed the knowledge, means and motive to carry out their plans."

One of the Fort Stewart soldiers charged in the case, Army Pfc. Michael Burnett, also gave testimony that backed up many of the assertions made by prosecutors. The 26-year-old soldier pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter, illegal gang activity and other charges. He made a deal to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against the three other soldiers.

Prosecutors said the group called itself F.E.A.R., short for Forever Enduring Always Ready. Pauley said authorities don't know how many members the militia had.

Burnett, 26, said he knew the group's leaders from serving with them at Fort Stewart. He agreed to testify against fellow soldiers Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, identified by prosecutors as the militia's founder and leader, Sgt. Anthony Peden and Pvt. Christopher Salmon.

All are charged by state authorities with malice murder, felony murder, criminal gang activity, aggravated assault and using a firearm while committing a felony. A hearing for the three soldiers was scheduled Thursday.

Prosecutors say Roark, 19, served with the four defendants in the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division and became involved with the militia. Pauley said the group believed it had been betrayed by Roark, who left the Army two days before he was killed, and decided the ex-soldier and his girlfriend needed to be silenced.

Burnett testified that on the night of Dec. 4, he and the three other soldiers lured Roark and York to some woods a short distance from the Army post under the guise that they were going target shooting. He said Peden shot Roark's girlfriend in the head while she was trying to get out of her car. Salmon, he said, made Roark get on his knees and shot him twice in the head. Burnett said Aguigui ordered the killings.

"A loose end is the way Isaac put it," Burnett said.

Aguigui's attorney, Daveniya Fisher, did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press. Attorneys for Peden and Salmon both declined to comment Monday.

Also charged in the killings is Salmon's wife, Heather Salmon. Her attorney, Charles Nester, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Pauley said Aguigui funded the militia using $500,000 in insurance and benefit payments from the death of his pregnant wife a year ago. Aguigui was not charged in his wife's death, but Pauley told the judge her death was "highly suspicious."

She said Aguigui used the money to buy $87,000 worth of semiautomatic assault rifles, other guns and bomb components that were recovered from the accused soldiers' homes and from a storage locker. He also used the insurance payments to buy land for his militia group in Washington state, Pauley said.

In a videotaped interview with military investigators, Pauley said, Aguigui called himself "the nicest cold-blooded murderer you will ever meet." He used the Army to recruit militia members, who wore distinctive tattoos that resemble an anarchy symbol, she said. Prosecutors say they have no idea how many members belong to the group.

"All members of the group were on active-duty or were former members of the military," Pauley said. "He targeted soldiers who were in trouble or disillusioned."

The prosecutor said the militia group had big plans. It plotted to take over Fort Stewart by seizing its ammunition control point and talked of bombing the Forsyth Park fountain in nearby Savannah, she said. In Washington state, she added, the group plotted to bomb a dam and poison the state's apple crop. Ultimately, prosecutors said, the militia's goal was to overthrow the government and assassinate the president.

The Army brought charges against the four accused soldiers in connection with the slayings of Roark and York in March, but has yet to act on them. Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said he could not comment immediately on the militia accusations that emerged in civilian court Monday.

District Attorney Tom Durden said his office has been sharing information with federal authorities, but no charges have been filed in federal court. Jim Durham, an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, would not comment on whether a case is pending.

--
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.

When evil people call you evil, you know that you are a good person.

When lairs call you a liar, you know that you are truthful.

Know who you are and don't let others tell you who you are." - Dave Kitchen

The Trouble With Some Christians

The Trouble With Some Christians

RNC Official Says NM Governor Disrespected Custer by Meeting American Indians

RNC Official Says NM Governor Disrespected Custer by Meeting American Indians

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/08/24/rnc-official-says-nm-governor-disrespected-custer-by-meeting-american-indians-130958

By Rob Capriccioso August 24, 2012

Col. George Armstrong Custer (Courtesy Wikipedia.org); Pat Rogers, Republican National Committee leader (Courtesy Modrall.com); Gov. Susana Martinez, R-N.M. (Courtesy governor.state.nm.us)

WASHINGTON – Pat Rogers, a Republican National Committee (RNC) leader, is facing calls for his dismissal after telling the staff of Gov. Susana Martinez, R-N.M., that because she agreed to meet with American Indians, she disrespected the memory of Col. George Armstrong Custer.

Custer is infamous for being a U.S. Army commander in the mid-1800s who killed many American Indians during what are historically known as the Indian Wars. He was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

Rogers is a GOP lobbyist and partner with the Modrall law firm of Albuquerque, New Mexico. A recent member of the RNC Executive Committee, he is also an RNC National Committeeman for his state. He is currently in Tampa, Florida preparing for the upcoming Republican National Convention.

Rogers was appointed to the GOP executive committee by former RNC Chairman Michael Steele, who faced his own Indian-themed controversy after using the phrase “honest injun” in 2010.

Rogers made the Custer-friendly statement in an e-mail obtained by Independent Source PAC and publicized by ProgressNow New Mexico , a liberal advocacy organization that is urging his exit from the RNC. Organizers with the group say his writing was a “tactless and bigoted statement.”

Rogers

“The state is going to hell,” Rogers wrote in part of the e-mail. “Col. [Allen] Weh would not have dishonored Col. Custer in this manner.” Weh was a Republican candidate for governor of New Mexico in 2010 who ran against Martinez.

The e-mail was sent following a meeting in June between Martinez and the state’s tribes, according to ProgressNow. It was directed to senior members of the governor’s administration. The governor’s office has not responded to requests for comment.

“George Armstrong Custer may be regarded as a kind of military hero by Pat Rogers, but to the Native peoples of America Custer represents the bellicose imperialism that was responsible for the systematic slaughter of American Indians throughout this continent,” according to an e-mail being circulated by ProgressNow.

“Such a blatantly racist statement against our Native people is offensive from anyone, but to come from a national GOP leader and lobbyist for some of our country’s largest corporations is indefensible,” said Pat Davis, executive director of ProgressNow New Mexico, in a statement.

“These e-mails show the contempt and disrespect New Mexico’s Republican leadership has for our Native people. Unless they drop Pat Rogers immediately, we can rightly assume that those organizations he speaks for, including the RNC, Modrall Sperling and his lobbying clients, feel the same way.”

“Well, there’s an entirely different angle to this,” added Chris Stearns, a Navajo lawyer and chairman of the Seattle Human Rights Commission. “I think you could argue that when Gov. Martinez met with Pat Rogers, she disrespected the memory of intelligent people everywhere.”

ProgressNow New Mexico has posted an online tool that allows people to e-mail RNC leaders and the corporate CEOs of Rogers’ law firm and lobbying clients to call for his firing.

Rogers was forced to resign in July from the board of a state group, the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, after his role in a separate e-mail scandal was investigated. He had been criticized for using personal e-mail accounts to contact state government officials attempting to influence their decision-making–a practice that carries questions under state law.

The RNC and Rogers have not responded to requests for comment, although they have previously taken umbrage with ProgressNow New Mexico for its activism.

Saying Grace

Saying Grace

So I'm feeling a little Heyoka (clown) tonight.

I cook dinner my wife. I got these chicken thighs for us and they looked pretty good sized.

But when I cooked them they shrunk to pretty small.

So my wife comes in and sits down, picks up the shrunken chicken and says, "What's this."

So I start praying. "Lord thank you this food, all the plants and animals that died so we could live,

and the little bird that I give to Sharon." LOL I hope God understood because we both cracked up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91YS3fNegmE

Have You Ever Seen a Snake Kill A Mouse?

I heard loud squealing today outside and saw a snake with a baby mouse by the throat. He was dying. And with its last breaths, it was squealing many times for its life that was slipping away. To interfere would be useless, the snake had a death bite on its throat. It would have died anyway. Life is fragile. People take it for granted that they will be here always and live as if they will always be here. But they won't. And sometimes life is very short like the little mouse found out today.

Some things you can do about voter suppression

Some things you can do about voter suppression

Write the UN

http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/d0b7f023e8d6d9898025651e004bc0eb

http://www.un.org/en/rights/

Write Freedom House

http://www.freedomhouse.org/content/our-offices

All these folks are very serious about voting and human rights violations.

Dave

'V for Vendetta' symbol painted on Tampa building

http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/269504/250/V-for-Vendetta-symbol-painted-on-Tampa-building

TAMPA, Florida - Just five days before the Republican National Convention in Tampa, a disturbing image was discovered on the rooftop of a downtown building on the corner of North Florida and Tyler.

It is hidden from plain view, but it's message speaks loud and clear. The graffiti is synonymous with anarchy.

The symbol is recognizable, known as the face from the popular movie and graphic novel V for Vendetta.

Among protestors, the man with the iconic black mustache and long-pointed chin is a calling card of sorts. This man and the movement he represents are known as "Anonymous."

The "99" painted in red most likely refers to claims by the Occupy Movement that 99 percent of the world does not benefit from our government.

So, what do nearby business owners think about this recent graffiti discovery?

"Why are they here to do harm to our city? What have we ever done to them?" asked Dr. Joseph Papia, who works in the building where the symbol was found on a rooftop.

Dr. Papia found the graffiti by accident.

He treats many members of law enforcement, he said, and was following their advice to fortify his building. When he did a site survey for the RNC, he saw the symbol spray painted on his building and called Tampa Police.

But, what he found nearby also worried him greatly.

"To the right piled up were big bricks," he said. "There were 12 of them."

Tampa police have been monitoring downtown buildings for more than a year, and they are now even more vigilant as the start of the RNC approaches.

Police Chief Jane Castor told reporters, "This is no surprise for us, but we are watching what is happening. There's no doubt that a small percentage of people who are coming here are bent on destruction and disruption."

Dr. Papia and others were very pleased with the quick response from TPD. Crews were sent over to paint over the graffiti, ending the anarchy for now. Helicopters were also seen in the skies over Tampa on Tuesday, checking out the rooftops.

Detectives are continuing to investigate, and the chief encourages anyone who sees this graffiti or a suspicious person to call police immediately. "Don't think that you are bothering us. It's our job to look into this, and we take it very seriously," said Chief Castor.

Graffiti found near "suspicious" items found on a building's roof, less than a week before the start of the Republican National Convention

--
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.

When evil people call you evil, you know that you are a good person.

When lairs call you a liar, you know that you are truthful.

Know who you are and don't let others tell you who you are." - Dave Kitchen

Voting rights

Voting rights.

Here where we live and all over the USA certain people are trying intimidate or scare people so they don't campaign or even go out and vote for the candidate of their choice. People who do this intimidation are basically afraid that their candidate can't win. This type of intimidation denies targeted groups of people their basic constitutional rights. And this intimidation is done by people who can not be REAL Americans in spirit. And they certainly can't believe in the constitution or they would want to deny people the right to vote.

Dave Kitchen

Comments for the Proposed Townsend Bombing Range Closes 8/27/2012

Comments for the Proposed Townsend Bombing Range Closes 8/27/2012

Update On Harris Neck Sacred Site 8 9 2012

Update On Harris Neck Sacred Site 8 9 2012

Dear friends,

We received this today. But we in no way are actively part of this battle for Harris Neck.

We are just passing it on.

Attached is a PDF document put out by the Darien News and researched by Jim McMahon.

What it basically shows is that when Mrs. Harris, the original owner of the property, died she did include Mr. Moran's relative, Mr. Delegal. But her son, her legal heir, who she left the land to in her legally probated will, after her death, wrote a will of his own with Mr. William J Wallace as the administrator to legally do with the land as he wanted, and then Bright Harris, the son died. So the new legally probated will of Mrs. Harris's son. cut Mr. Moran's relative out of the will. It passed hands several times to several people, all legally probated sales.

Then in 1942 171 tracts of land owned by blacks and whites was taken by the Federal Government. But most of the land of the black folks was outside Harris Neck Wild Life Refuge. After the war the Fed gave the land to McIntosh County in 1947 to use as an airport. The county did not keep up their end of the bargain. So the land went back to Fed and became a wild life refuge in 1962 to the present.

If you read the attached documents carefully and correctly, you will see that they really nullify the current claims by certain folks to the Harris Neck Wild Life Refuge.

Sharon Kitchen

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Chase Iron Eyes Asks For Help to Save Sacred Site

Chase Iron Eyes Asks For Help to Save Sacred Site

Read more: http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/08/19/chase-iron-eyes-asks-for-help-to-save-sacred-site-129978

By ICTMN Staff August 19, 2012

Chase Iron Eyes, an attorney and founding writer at LastRealIndians.com, is seen in this video asking people to unite to help save Pe’ Sla, an important sacred site in the Black Hills.

Last Real Indians has partnered with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to centralize the fundraising efforts to save “the heart of everything that is.” And it won’t be easy, they need to raise between $6 million and $10 million to save the site.

We Need A New Sheriff In McIntosh County & Here's Why

We Need A New Sheriff In McIntosh County & Here's Why

Attached are pictures of damage done to horse feeder pens the day after we volunteered to make phone calls for Sheriff Jones.
The poles were straight. Now they are bent. And I had to move the entire metal pens closer for them to shut.Chains were damaged and slots where they went were torn out. Some device was used to crush the poles like a winch or an ambulance jaws of life.
Under the current Sheriff these trash feel free to commit and criminal act they want.This needs to change.Vote Chunk Jones for Sheriff of McIntosh County if you live here.Or go to his website and support him financially if you don't live here.We can not let these criminals run McIntosh any longer
http://chunkjonesforsheriff...com/Meet_Charles_Jones_.html

Georgia high on list of toxic states

By Arielle Kass

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

http://www.ajc.com/business/georgia-high-on-list-1495261.html

Georgia ranks as one of the worst states in the country when it comes to air pollution from coal-powered power plants, according to information from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

As of 2010 — the most recent date available — Georgia was the ninth-worst state when it came to industrial toxic air pollution, the organization said. The state's electric sector accounted for more than a third of Georgia's pollution.

The state also ranked 22nd for industrial mercury air pollution, the NRDC said.

Nationally, there was a 19 percent decrease in the amount of air toxins released from power plants from 2009 to 2010, the group said.

Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania were the most toxic states, according to the NRDC.

--
"When crazy people call you crazy, you know you're sane.

When evil people call you evil, you know that you are a good person.

When lairs call you a liar, you know that you are truthful.

Know who you are and don't let others tell you who you are." - Dave Kitchen

Facing Death in a Good way

Facing Death in a Good way

I would like to talk about death. But I want to give some background.

I used to think that I had some wisdom long ago. But then my world crashed down around me with severe illness first for me,

then for my wife. Her leukemia floored me for a while. I honestly felt angry with the Creator/ God for allowing all this, even

though I know that I am not a perfect man. During my illness, I actually had messed up brain chemistry so that I had attacked my family who I loved. I really hated myself for this. I don't really have answers for why all this is allowed to fall on us.

Oh, I had turned from following Native American spirituality that I was taught by the Lakotas (I am Cherokee.) to following Jesus because I had a vision that that was what I was supposed to do. And please don't anyone take this as putting what I have learned over the Lakota elders spiritual ways that they teach. It was a great honor to have been taught by elders who some would be very honored to learn from.

I find that I am about as perfect as a piece of cloth that is sewn wrong. I have so many things that I feel that I know must pain the Creator because Creator knows our thoughts that sometimes I am embarrassed to ask for anything from Creator.

Then my mother died in July. I had many thoughts running through my head from the past.

My sister called and said that she was too emotional to handle the eulogy and my brother is very sick and we don't know how much longer he has. My mom had also requested that we sing at her funeral. But my sister was too upset for that.

So it all came upon me.

I thought about what I could write. My mom was raised under tough circumstances. Her dad was abusive to her mom and my mom, aunt, and uncles when they were kids. He also ran around with other women. He kept the family so poor and tore up that

when my uncles got old enough, they kicked him out and told him to never bother my grandma again. But grandma had her own problems. She had obsessions and violent ways of her own. God only knows what she went through that caused her and my aunt

to leave North Carolina. I want no one to take this as a condemnation of any group please. These are just facts.

Native American people have had to live through extreme circumstances that have really caused mental problems for many of us.

Rape and murder of children and women by various groups who were supposed to be helping us like priests and other clergy.

And many of us thought that the white man's god was a god of death, until we found out that those doing these atrocities were in no way following the REAL Jesus. As a matter of fact from the time of Constantine, the church began to be more about politics than spirituality. There are and have been notable exceptions to the corruption of the white man's church. And they shine like stars.

But the majority are just using religion to control the masses. They will take a few issues like abortion and gay marriage to focus on and forget the Bible's mandate to help the needy and poor among you. And lest anyone try to make this exclusively about individual mandates to help the poor, I suggest they read the many parts of the Bible that mandate the governing person or body to help them also. I will not find these for you. I suggest that you read them for yourselves.

Most of what I have read in the Bible is just what Native American kids are taught from childhood. The REAL Jesus' spiritual way is so very close to ours that the only difference that I have in my prayers and life right now is to do everything in Jesus' name.

Other than that, the teachings about caring for the Earth, your fellow humans animals and all creations are almost the same.

I have to laugh at some of these so called Christians who run around on their wives, make policies in government that hurt so many people by cutting off assistance programs that their own forefathers put in place, then say they are they are the real followers of Jesus. They hate and want to kill people, including our current president who they have made veiled threats about assassinating.

They call other races lazy, stupid, stereotype them, hate them, want them dead and promote hatred on their cable news programs.

Then they want follow this heartless version of spirituality or be drowned out in their waves of hate propaganda. And I will be honest I can not vote for the current Republican candidate because the policies that he and his VP are endorsing will hurt many people.

And I reject their claiming to be spiritual people and still implement these policies that would hurt so many people. That is a false Jesus who would tell them to do things like that. I have no tolerance for folks who tell handicapped people, poor folks struggling to survive, sick people and those who Jesus called "the least of these" to pick themselves up by their own bootstraps. Then they quote a few instances of abuse of the system to justify wiping out whole programs and requiring voter IDs of elderly people, handicapped or sick people who can't get out to get one and don't have anyone eligible to go get one for them. All this amounts to

is making it harder to vote and rigging the vote so that fewer come out.

. I fully am prepared to be called a communist/ Marxist for my views which are really ancient Native American in origin. You see anyone who opposes their oppression will be tagged with these false name. I don't agree what so ever with all the teachings of socialists, communists or Marxists because they want no Creator to exist and I know Creator does exist, but not the false one taught in many churches now days. And now many of you know how we feel. Welcome to rez folks we're all "American Indians" now.

So, I know why Indigenous People want no part of being "Christian," because what is presented as "mainstream" now days is sick and perverted and is an evil spiritual way.

So there are/ were those who condemned my mother because she was abusive to us kids. And my dad was always gone to school somewhere so he didn't have to deal with it. But, as I got older, I very much understood what had infected her because it had infected me and countless others. And as I made out her eulogy I began to understand that there was not just bad but a lot of good that she had taught me. She taught me to love music. She used to play her keyboard at home and sing spiritual songs.

She used to sing spiritual songs when she worked. I tried it and found my work easier and I seemed to be more energized afterward. My mother combined her old way teaching with the REAL Jesus she had found. And they were not all that different.

And she apologized later in life for being so rough on me as a kid. I told her there was nothing to forgive. She had grown as a person and had a lot to overcome. She did the best she could with what she had. I told her I loved her and we both hugged and cried.

That was years ago before the Alzheimers had taken her health and mind.

When I left that funeral something in me had changed. My mind began to see that folks we can not fight evil totally with our physical ways. No, we must make sure that we use everything the Creator taught us first and foremost.

We must not hate the person. We must hate evil, not with human hate, but with strong spiritual disdain. And pray for it to be taken out of that person. We must return evil with prayer and try to keep our minds on a good path.

I am 64 now. And maybe I will grow up soon because before this I was a real spiritual baby.

There are a lot of spiritual babies out there and many in leadership positions.

With all the fakes out there it is no wonder that our kids want nothing to do with spirituality.

They don't want to believe in the evil god of money and power an control. I don't blame them.

It took me a long time to find the starting point for the path to being truly spiritual. And I am no Holy Man or leader. I am just a fellow traveler on this path.

But I took another step in the right direction at my mom's funeral. I am sorry my mom is gone. I love her and always will.

But I thank the Creator and her for using it to help me grow as a person.

So I now look at all these people who everyone fears and hates and some follow blindly. But you know they will all face death one day. And what is the legacy they will leave? Will it better the human race? Will people be helped to grow spiritually from their evil? What will be learned at their funerals that will help people grow? What is their legacy? Will it be love? Will it be hate, murder (because their evil propaganda causes some to act out violence, like killing people while they pray in a Sikh temple or while they watch a movie.)? Or do they present a delusion, a false spiritual way that will cause people not to grow?

What are you and I going to leave behind for seven generations? All these and more questions need to be answered.

My mom and dad taught me that all Creation and every person is important. And to never run from evil, to pray your way through it.

And the Creator will show you what to do. And they taught me many, many other things to make me a caring, helpful, respectful and above all loving person.

And the truth is, one day death will take me and you like it took my mom and dad. I only hope that I leave someone the good things that they left me.

Howa!

Dave Kitchen